Combination-lock.



W. E, BLAIS.

- COMBINATION LOCK.

APPLICATION HLED Aus.2o. x913.

Lg figo Patented Apr. 17, 1917. 5

WILLIAM E. BLAIS, OFBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

COMBINATION-LOCK.

i,222.e2o.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

Application filed August 20, 1913. Serial No. 785,704.

To all whom it may concern:

it known that i, lViLLIAM E. BLAIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented a new and useful Combination-Lock, of which the fol lowingis a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanyingdrawings.

This invention relates to a combination lock which may be setarbitrarily and can be unlocked only by a person conversant with thecode.

The main object of my invention is to provide a lock of simple, cheapand efficient construction which may be applied to vari ous uses andwhich can be unlocked without a key but only by one in possession of thecode. 7

A further object of the invention is to secure a lock which may beeasily operated by the sense of touch and therefore in the dark as wellas in daylight.

Qther objects of the invention will be spe cifically pointed out anddescribed hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred form of theinvention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a lock constructed andoperated in accordance with my invention, the lock being shown asmounted on one end of a chain, the other end being provided with a latchto be locked in said lock; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lock and latchand end portions of the chain looking downwardly in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is aplan view looking upwardly in Fig. 1 showing the latch in lockedposition; Fig. 4: is a central longitudinal sectional view on line 4-4in Fig. 2 but showing the locking spindle in elevation; Fig. 5 is atransverse sectional view looking from right to left on line 55 in Fig.4:; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the body portion of the lock; Fig. 7is also a side elevation of the same turned through an arc of ninetydegrees; Figs. 8 and 9 are views in perspective of the rings and Fig. 10is a view in perspective of a washer.

Briefly, the preferred embodiment of my invention comprises abody-portion of any suitable form having a cylindrical sleeve to hold alongitudinally movable spindle and a recess to receive a bolt or latchmember adapted to be held in a locked position by the said spindle. Thelongitudinal movement of the spindle is controlled by a series of ringsrotatably mounted on said sleeve and having projections or pins whichpass through slots in the sleeve and engage slots or grooves in thespindle and when the rings are arranged according to a predeterminedcode the spindle may be moved longitudinally into a locked or unlockedposition and may be secured in that position by turning the rings todisturb the arrangement thereof. Until the rings are returned to thisparticular predetermined arrangement the spindle cannot be movedlongitudinally.

In the accompanying drawings my invention is shown as embodied in achain lock which may be used for various purposes as for instance forfastening automobile tires to prevent theft. This, however, is merelyone form of the invention which is capable of wide application and maybe, by slight changes, made suitable for all kinds of locks.

Referring to the drawings, 12 designates a body-portion having a sleeve13 preferably cylindrical and a recess 14. lVithin the sleeve is mounteda spindle 15 which is 1011- gitudinally movable so that one end 16 maybe projected into the recess for the purpose of engaging a latch 17 ormember to be locked therein. Preferably the end 16 of the spindle isdiminished in diameter in or der to engage a hole 18 in the latch andthereby lock it within the recess. The forms of the latch and spindle inthis respect may be varied to suit different uses. This is also true ofthe body-portion 12.

For the purpose of locking the spindle a ainst longitudinal movement Iprovide a series of rotatable members or rings 20 mounted upon thesleeve 13 and provided with means projecting through said sleeve toengage the spindle to control its longi tudinal movement. These ringsmay be graduated in diameter, as shown in Fig. 4, to facilitate theirmanipulation when the lock is being operated and in such case 1 pre' ferto form a flat flange or rim 21 on the perimeter of each ring which maybe knurled to afford a grip for the fingers. When assembled the rim ofeach ring fits on one side inside the rim of the adjacent larger ringand on the other side incloses the rim of the adjacent smaller ringwhich arrangement conceals the interior parts and prevents the 7 with aninwardly projecting pin 23 and a stop 24, the distance between the twobeing about ninety degrees in the lock shown in the drawings. Thelocation of the stop with relation to the pin is an arbitrary one andmay be varied more or less, as this distance is always equal to theamount of rotary movement of the ring upon the sleeve. (See Fig. 5.) Thesleeve is pierced by a series of semi-annular slots 25 and the spindle15 has a corresponding series of annular grooves 26. l Vhen the partsare in position, the pins 23 project through the slots 25 into thegrooves 26 in the spindle. The stops do not project through the slots inthe sleeve and therefore have no effect upon the movement of thespindle. The pins, slots and grooves 25 in the centers and extend fromone end the spindle turning.

of the sleeve to the other. This slot receives the pins 23 when therings 20 are being arranged in place on the sleeve. A longitudinalgroove 31 on each side of the sleeve accommodates the stops 24. On theopposite side from the slot 30 is arranged a shorter slot 32 whichreceives a pin 34 set in the spindle and prevents any rotation of thelatter in the sleeve Without interfering with its longitudinal movement.The spindle has in its upper side a longitudinal groove 35 so that whenthe rings 20 are so disposed that the pins 23 all lie in this groove 35,the spindle may be moved longitudinally. Each washer 22 has an inwardlyprojecting pin 36 which, when the lock is assembled, lies in thelongitudinal slot 30 in the sleeve and between two transverse slots 25so that rotary movement of the washer on the sleeve is impossible.

In order to hold the rings in place upon the sleeve, the end thereof isscrew-threaded at 40 to receive a collar 41 and the end of the spindleis also threaded to receive a cap 42 which is also held by a screw 43threaded into the end of the spindle. The cap serves as a finger piecefor moving the spindle longitudinally from left to right in Fig. 4 torelease the latch 17 The operations of assembling and taking apart thelock are extremely simple and may be performed by the user withoutrequiring technical knowledge. Thismakes it possible for the user tochange the combination at any time without assistance. In assembling thelock, the spindle is inserted in the sleeve with the pin 34 in the slot32 which prevents The longitudinal groove 35 in the top of the spindleasshown in Fig. 4 extends the entire length of the spindle and registersat all times with the longitudinal slot 30 in the top of the sleev Therings may then be adjusted in position. First the largest ring 20 isslipped onto the sleeve, the pin 23 traveling in the slot 30and' groove35 which together constitute a runway and permits the rings to be movedfreely on the sleeve in a longitudinal direction. The longitudinalgrooves 31 in the sides of the sleeve receive the steps 24 on the rings.The first ring is pressed into engagement with the body-portion 12 andthen a washer 22 is mounted on the spindle the pin 36 on the washertraveling in the sleeve slot 30. The next largest ring is then arrangedin the same manner as the first and this process is'continued until allthe rings and washers have been arranged in place as shown in Fig. 4.The collar 41 is then screwed onto the end of the sleeve and the cap 42secured to the spindle by the screw 43. This completes the assemblingand the lock is ready for use. To take the lock apart the foregoingoperations are merely reversed. In the illustrated embodiment of theinvention five locking rings are shown but a greater or asmaller numbermay be used,

the number of differentcombinations possible depending of course uponthe number of rings.

Passing now to the operation of the device. In the drawings I have shownmy look as fastened by a link 50 to a chain 51 which may be covered withsuitable material 52 to prevent chafing. Upon the other end of the chainis mounted the latch 17 which cooper ates with the lock and is adaptedto be secured therein. By passing the chain around a tire and around afixed part of an automobile the tire is secured against removal when thelatch is inserted and locked in the slot- 14. This is merelyillustrative of the manner of using the chain and the adaptation of mylock to a chain is but one use to which it may be applied and toillustrate the principle of operation of my invention.

In Fig. 4 the spindle is shown in a locked.

the right and when in an unlocked position the latch may be Withdrawn.

In the position of the parts shown in Fig. 4 the spindle is in itslocking position but is not locked against longitudinal movement. Toaccomplish this result'so that the latch can not be'released the variousrings are rotated and the combination is whatmay be termed upset. Inconsequence some or, the

pins 23 are on one side of the groove 35 and some on the other side andso long as one pin remains on one side or the other of that groove thespindle is locked against longitudinal movement and the latch or memberwhich is locked cannot be released.

Referring to Figs. 8 and 9 it is to be observed that each ring has onepin and one stop and is reversible, being the same on both sides. Thisfeature permits each ring to be mounted on the sleeve with the stopeither on the right hand side or the left hand side. In Fig. 5 are showntwo rings, the larger being behind thesmaller, and the latter is mountedon the sleeve with the stop 24L on the right hand side and the formerwith the stop on the left hand side and shown in dotted lines. Both pins23 are lying within the slot 30 and groove 35. By rotating the smallerring from right to left the pin 23 moves into the transverse slot 25 andgroove 26 and locks the spindle. The larger ring is rotated in theopposite direction with a like result. Each ring is capable of rotationthrough an arc of ninety degrees and no more and there is nothing toindicate on the outer surface of any ring whether the ring should beturned to the right or to the left as far as it can go in order to bringthe pin in the center, that is, in the slot 30 and groove 35.Consequently, by mounting the rings on the sleeve, some with the stop onthe left hand side and some with the stop on the right hand side in apredetermined arrangement, it will require knowledge of this arrangementin order to set the rings so that the spindle may be movedlongitudinally to unlock the latch. In each case it is necessary, inorder to bring the pin in the center, to turn the ring until the stopengages the end of the transverse slot. In Fig. 4 the second, third andfifth rings counting from the left have stops on the right hand side,looking from right to left in that figure, these stops being shown indotted outline. The first and fourth rings have their stops on the lefthand side and consequently these steps are not shown in that figure.Therefore, to release the spindle in this particular lock and with thisarrangement of rings, the first or largest ring is turned from right toleft, the second and third from left to right, the fourth from right toleft and the fifth from left to right.

, hen the rings have been turned in their respective directions as faras they can go, the pins 23 are all in alinement, in the slot 30 and thegroove 35 and the spindle can be moved longitudinally. In case thecombination becomes known or the owner wishes to change it he can do soas hereinbefore described by just reversing one or more rings on thesleeve.

It is to be noted that this lock can be operated to release the spindleentirely by sense of touch, provided the operator is in posses sion ofthe key, that is, is informed as to which rings turn to the left andwhich to the right. By increasing the number of rings, the number ofpossible combinations may be greatly increased, so that it will for allpractical purposes be impossible to discover the key.

Because of the simplicity of operation and because it can be operatedwithout a light, my lock is especially adapted for use'in connectionwith automobiles and may be employed in many different environments. Bymaking slight changes in the form of the body portion, which will beapparent to any skilled mechanic, the lock may be adapted for a greatvariety of uses and, therefore, I do not desire to be limited to thespecific construction hereinbefore illustrated and described.

What I claim is:

1. A combination lock comprising a sleeve having a series of transverseslots, a spindle mounted in said sleeve and longitudinally movabletherein, said spindle having a longitudinal groove and a series ofannular grooves, and a plurality of rotatable mem bers mounted on saidsleeve, each of said members being provided with means projectingthrough one of said slots in said sleeve into one of said annulargrooves on said spindle and being provided with a stop projecting intothe slot in said sleeve to limit the movement of said rotatable memberon said sleeve, said stop being so arranged that when it is inengagement with the end of the slot in the sleeve the projecting meanson said rotatable member projects into the longitudinal groove on saidspindle permitting longitudinal movement thereof.

2. A combination lock comprising a sleeve having a plurality oftransverse slots, a spindle mounted in said sleeve and longitudinallymovable therein, said spindle having a longitudinal groove and aplurality of annular grooves corresponding to the transverse slots insaid sleeve, and a series of rota table members mounted on said sleeve,each of said members being provided with a pin which projects throughone of said slots in said sleeve into one of said transverse grooves on.said spindle and being provided with a stop engaging one of said slotsin said sleeve to limit the movement of said rotatable member, said stopbeing so arranged that when it engages the end of the slot on saidsleeve the said pin lies within said longitudinal groove on saidspindle.

8. A combination lock comprising a bodyportion provided with a recess toreceive a member to be looked therein, a spindle for locking said memberwithin said recess and a plurality of rings mounted on said bodyportion,each of said rings being capable of a limited rotary movement, saidrings serving to retain said spindle in the position of locking the saidmember Within said recess nally movable spindle for locking said mem-)er Within said recess and a plurality of rings mounted on saidbody-portion, each of said rings being capable of a limited rotarymovement, said rings serving to retain said spindle in the position oflocking the said member within said recess except When all of said ringsare rotated to the extreme ends of their movements in one direction orthe reverse according to a. prearranged code.

A combination lock comprising a bodyportion provided with a recess toreceive a member to be locked therein, a longitudinally movable spindlefor locking said member Within said recess and means having a limitedrotary movement for locking said spindle against longitudinal movementexcept when said means are rotated to the extreme ends of theirmovements in one direction or the reverse according to a prear-' rangedcode. 7

6. A combination lock comprising a bodyportion provided With a recess toreceive the member to be locked, a longitudinally movable spindle forlocking said member Within said recess and a plurality of rotatablemembers mounted on said body and having a limited rotatable movement andserving to retain said spindle in the position of locking the saidmember within said recess except vvhen all of said rotary members arerotated to the extreme ends of their movements in one direction or thereverse according to a pie-arranged code.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand, this the llth day ofAugust, 1913.

WILLIAM E. BLAIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents Washington, I). C.

